Apparatus and method of handling and embalming viscera



g- 5, 1959 I R. o. c. RITCHEY 3,458,910

APPARATUS AND METHOD OF HANDLING AND EMBALMING VISCERA Filed Dec. 5, 1966 i P n 23 22 :1; Q1 5i i 4 1H El hi i i g mvrswroa "U I /I5 Rob rt Donald C. Ritchey 235-1" j BY wvwn, Gaul.

Attorneys United States Patent 3,458,910 APPARATUS AND METHOD OF HANDLING AND EMBALMING VISCERA Robert Donald C. Ritchey, 2589 Alice Way, Pinole, Calif. 94564 Filed Dec. 5, 1966, Ser. No. 599,127 Int. Cl. A01n 1/00 US. Cl. 27-21 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus and method of handling and embalming viscera, and particularly human viscera, is disclosed which incorporates and utilizes a tray, plastic bag, and bucket. Viscera is severed from the body during autopsy, studied and then placed on the tray, which is inclined toward and superimposed over the bucket lined with the bag. Thus, the severed viscera passes into the bag. Upon completion of the autopsy, the bag containing the viscera is removed from the bucket, substantially sealed and then placed in the body cavity. The incision in the body is closed and the body may be transported to the mortician. The mortician may open the incision and remove the bag for final preparation of the body or leave the bag in the body and use a trocar or similar instrument to treat the viscera.

The present invention relates to embalming apparatus and methods and, more particularly, relates to the handling and embalming of viscera.

The frequency with which the need for an autopsy is required upon the death of a human is surprisingly high. Such autopsies typically take place at the hospital at which the death occurred, the county or municipal morgue or at individual morticians premises. A variety of reasons may require such autopsies and almost always require that a substantial portion of the human viscera is severed, examined in detail and replaced in the body cavity prior to burial or other disposition of the body.

It has been common practice in the past that the physician will sever and examine the various organs and tissues of interest, which in the case of a human usually means the organs in the ventral cavity. These organs will be dissected and studied and then placed in a pan or receptacle as the operation is continued. At the end of the autopsy, the physician will manually return the severed viscera to the ventral cavity, replace the sternum, and suture the incision closed for purposes of final disposition of the cadaver. If the autopsy was performed at a point remote from the point of embalming, such as a hospital as opposed to a mortuary, the cadaver will be transferred with the severed viscera stored loosely within the body cavity. At the place of embalming, the embalmer will open the body cavity at the previous incision and manually remove the severed viscera and prepare the ventral cavity as well as the viscera. This is achieved by adding embalming material, in the form of fluid or powdered chemicals, to the body cavity and the severed viscera which is usually placed in a receptacle similar to the one used by the autopsy physician. The viscera is then manually returned to the ventral cavity and final treatment of the cadaver completed. As will be understood, these operations are time consuming, unsanitary, and are often unnecessarily unpleasant.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for handling and embalming viscera that greatly reduces the time required for autopsy and embalming.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a viscera handling and embalming method and apparatus "ice which allows more sanitary autopsy and embalming than was possible with previous methods.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for handling viscera which greatly facilitates the handling of embalming material.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus which makes it more convenient to move the body from the place of autopsy to the place of embalming, allows a more economical use of embalming materials, provides an apparatus which is easier to clean and inexpensive to construct and use.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which of the foregoing will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus for handling and embalming viscera constructed in accordance with the present invention and an embalming table which is used in conjunction therewith.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the viscera handling apparatus and embalming table.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the viscera handling apparatus taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the tray of the apparatus of the present invention taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3.

The viscera handling and embalming apparatus of the present invention comprises, briefly; a shell or bucket 12 having side walls 10 defining open upper end 13; a flexible water-tight container 18 having an edge 19 defining an opening 16 therein removably mounted in shell 12 with opening 16 supported by upper end 13 for receipt of viscera; and a tray 21 formed with a pair of opposed raised sides 22 and 23 defining a central portion 24 upon which severed viscera may be placed and formed with leg means 26 to support the tray in inclined relation to the horizon and over an operating table 14 and to position the lower end 27 thereof in superimposed relation to opening 16, the leg means being formed and dimensioned to elevate the tray above the table a distance to cause the tray to pass over a portion of a body on the table and tray 21 being dimensioned to extend a substantial distance over the body.

The viscera handling method of the present invention, comprises, briefly, placing severed viscera in a watertight container 18 upon completion of the examination thereof at the place of autopsy, closing and substantially sealing the container to encapsulate the viscera, storing the container and viscera by passing the container through an incision in the body from which the viscera was severed and into a cavity therein formed to facilitate and resulting from the severance of the viscera, and closing the incision with container 18 in the cavity for final disposition of the body.

For the purpose of this application, viscera as defined herein shall include, as well as the members severed from the ventral cavity, the brain. The brain and liver are usually the largest viscera members severed during autopsy with about 14 pounds of viscera being removed during the average autopsy. Moreover, While the method and apparatus of the present invention are particularly well suited for handling and embalming of human viscera, they may have equal application to animal viscera. As will also become apparent, the operating table referred to herein may either be an autopsy or embalming table depending upon whether the physician or the mortician is using the apparatus. The apparatus of the present invention is most advantageously employed by the physician during autopsy. The doctor performing the autopsy will make an incision in the cadaver on the autopsy table, sever the viscera from the body, and proceed with the examination of the severed viscera. On completion of the examination of the viscera, it may then be placed in tray 21 whereupon it will slide under the infl ence of gravity into container 18, which is mounted in bucket or shell 12. It is preferable that container 18 be formed from a thin, thermoplastic sheet into a bag, such materials as polyethylene are quite suitable for this purpose. The flexible plastic bag should be water-tight and impervious to the chemicals found in the body for a sufficient period of time to allow transportation of the cadaver and burial thereof without danger of any leakage or deterioration of the bag. Polyethylene is also satisfactory in this respect. Once all of the viscera has been severed from the body, examined and placed on the tray for deposit in the bag, the physician can remove bag 18 from shell 12 and place the bag into the ventral cavity. The sternum may be replaced and the incision sutured closed. The body then will be transported to the mortuary for preparation for burial or other disposition.

It is an important feature of the present invention in order to allow ease of cleaning of the present apparatus, portability thereof and convenience in its use to provide a stand 30 formed to demountably receive and support shell 12 with upper ends 13 adjacent the top surface 15 of the table. Leg means 26 is formed to demountably secure tray 21 to shell 13 with the lower end 31 of the tray extending into the shell upper end 13, and leg means 26 releasably securing flexible plastic bag 18 to the shell in a position to receive viscera. It has been found advan tageous to secure bag 18 to shell 12 by forming leg means 26 with an inverted U-shaped member 32 which is placed down over the upper end 13 of the shell when the edge 19 of the bag has been rolled down and outwardly of the upper end 13 as best may be seen in FIGURE 3. Shell 12 is preferably formed as a bucket having continuous side walls and bottom although the shell can be perforated as long as the combination of the shell and bag will support the viscera without rupturing the bag.

It is another important feature of the present invention to form the tray and leg means to provide the autopsy physician with an apparatus which can be easily and conveniently used from either side of the autopsy table. One construction which is suitable for this purpose is to form leg means 26 with vertical members 33 and 34 which in addition to inverted U-shape member 32 supports the tray at an inclined position relative to the horizon and the operating table. Tray 21 is formed to extend a substantial distance inwardly from the edge of the operating table, and vertical members 33 and 34 elevate tray 21 above the surface of the table so that the tray will pass over a portion of the body, for example, a leg as is best shown in FIGURE 3. When the ventral cavity is opened, the apparatus of the present invention can be positioned relative to the table and body as is shown in FIGURE 2. The physician may then perform the autopsy from either side of the table and he will have convenient access to the tray for disposition of the severed viscera on completion of his examination.

The apparatus and method of the present invention greatly reduces the physicians time in completing the autopsy and generally makes the autopsy procedure more sanitary. For example, the physician need only clean the demountable tray 21 as bucket 12 will normally not be soiled. The bucket or shell 12 can be removed from stand 30 should it become soiled, but this will only be necessary periodically and after a substantial number of autopsies. Once the bag 18 is placed inside the ventral cavity, a new bag can be positioned in the shell 12 for the next autopsy.

The use of a plastic bag increases the level of sanitation during the transportation of the body to the mortuary. Under present practices, the incision is only temporarily sutured, as it is contemplated that the embalmer will reopen the incision and remove the viscera prior to introducing antiseptic and embalming materials. When viscera is loosely placed in the ventral cavity and the incision only temporarily sutured, serious problems of leakage from this incision can occur. The method of the present invention eliminates this problem because the physician can easily seal the bag containing the viscera and body fluids prior to storing the container in the body for transportation. Sealing of polyethylene bags, for example can be easily achieved by standard methods such as the use of heat to seal a bag or merely using a string or rubberband to substantially seal the bag and prevent leakage. A water-tight seal of the bag need not be effectuated, although it is preferable. The use of a flexible container, such as a plastic bag, also greatly facilitates and reduces the time required for embalming. An embalmer having the apparatus of the present invention merely has to open the incision and remove the plastic bag. The bag is then placed in a shell or bucket 12 at the embalming table. The embalmer may introduce either fluid or powdered embalming chemicals into the bag containing the viscera. Satisfactory chemicals which are resently in wide-spread use are: fluidCosmort Cavart Cavity Fluid; poWder-Cosmort Hardening Compound with formalin and Cosmort Firma Powder. The embalmer may then perform any further embalming tasks in the body and body cavity and subsequently substantially seal bag 18 and return it to the ventral cavity. Thus, the embalmer need not handle the severed viscera, and there is the problem of leakage of embalming material from the incision prior to burial is also greatly reduced through the use of the sealed bag.

It is also an important feature of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for handling severed viscera which has substantial advantage to the mortician even when the standard autopsy practices are employed. When the viscera is loosely placed in the ventral cavity by the autopsy physician, the mortician can remove the severed viscera and place it on tray 21 for deposit in bag 18. The procedure for adding embalming chemicals is the same as above described. The advantages to the mortician are the elimination of a second handling of the viscera, reduction of leakage from the incision, improved sanitation, and reduction of time required to clean the equipment after embalming.

It is also an important feature of the present invention in order to facilitate embalming of severed viscera to employ an embalming material which is fluid and introduce into plastic bag 18 through a tubular tool, commonly referred to as a trocar. The trocar can be used to enter the ventral cavity by piercing the body without opening the incision and further piercing the walls of bag 18 with the tool. The embalming fluid can then be forced to flow through the instrument into bag 18 and the severed viscera.

It is a further feature of the present invention that flexible bag 18 can be placed in bucket 12 and the embalming material introduced into the bag. The bucket and bag are used to soak the viscera in chemicals and subsequently empty substantially all of the embalming material from the severed viscera prior to replacement of the bag into the body cavity. Thus, the bag allows manipulation of the severed viscera with relative ease and sanitation and is adaptable to the various techniques employed for embalming cadavers.

I claim:

1. A method of handling viscera severed from a body comprising, placing the severed viscera in a water-tight container upon completion of the examination thereof at the place of autopsy, closing and substantially sealing said container to encapsulate the viscera, storing said container and viscera by passing said container through an incision in said body and into a cavity therein formed to facilitate and resulting from the severance of said viscera,

and closing said incision with said container in said cavity for final disposition of said body.

2. A method of handling viscera as defined in claim 1 wherein said container is a flexible plastic bag, and the addition step of supporting said bag in an upright position with an upper end open to receive severed viscera.

3. A method of handling viscera as defined in claim 2 wherein said bag is supported by a bucket with the edge defining said upper end rolled over the upper lip of said bucket, and the additional steps of supporting a tray in inclined relation to an operating table upon which the autopsy takes place and positioning said bucket beneath the lower end of said tray for receipt of viscera placed on said tray.

4. The method of handling viscera as defined in claim 1 and, introducing antiseptic and embalming material into said container to cleanse and embalm the severed viscera.

5. A method of handling viscera as defined in claim 4 wherein said material is introduced into said container after transportation of said body from a place of autopsy to a place of embalming.

6. A method of handling viscera as defined in claim 5 wherein said material is a fluid and is introduced into said container through a tubular tool by piercing said body and entering said cavity, and piercing a wall of said container with said tool and causing said fluid to flow through said tool and into said container.

7. A method of handling viscera as defined in claim 5 wherein the introduction of said material is achieved by opening said incision at said place of embalming, removing said container and severed viscera from said body, unsealing said container, introducing said material into said container, replacing said container in said cavity in said body, and closing said incision for final disposition of said L body.

8. A method of handling and embalming viscera as defined in claim 7 and emptying said material from said container before replacing said container into said cavity in said body.

9. An apparatus for handling and embalming viscera comprising; a shell having side walls defining an open upper end; a flexible water-tight container having an edge defining an opening therein removably mounted in said shell with said opening supported by said upper end for receipt of viscera; and a tray formed with a pair of 0pposed raised sides defining a central portion upon which severed viscera may be placed and formed with leg means to support said tray in inclined relation to the horizontal and over an operating table and to position the lower end thereof in superimposed relation to said opening, said leg means being formed and dimensioned to elevate said tray above said table a distance to cause said tray to pass over a portion of a body on said table and said tray being dimensioned to extend a substantial distance over said body.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, and a stand formed to demountably receive and support said shell with said upper end adjacent the top surface of said table and wherein said container is a plastic bag and said leg means is formed to demountably secure said tray to said shell with said lower end thereof extending into said shell upper end and releasably secure said bag to said bucket in position to receive said viscera.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,058,551 4/1913, Clark 27-21 1,771,152 7/1930 Turnbach. 2,774,101 12/1956 Orgabisz 17-11 W] LLIAM E. KAMM, Primary Examiner 

